Crisp Mornings and Cozy Evenings; Preparing Your Home for Fall and Winter
EWM INSIGHTS with Special Guest Jim Tinsley!
"Crisp Mornings and Cozy Evenings; Preparing Your Home for Fall and Winter".
Welcome to EWM INSIGHTS where we celebrate on HUMAN CAPITAL!
In this special episode of EWM Insights, we visit with Jim Tinsley and discuss the transition from summer to fall in our picturesque Pacific Northwest.
As the crisp mornings and warm afternoons signal the end of our "Indian Summer", we focus on preparing our homes for the upcoming season.
Discover insightful professional tips and strategies to ensure your home, one of your most significant investments, is ready for the changing weather.
Don't miss this essential guide to fall home preparation!
Topics Covered:
• Top Down Preparation
• Do It Yourself, or Oversee the Process
• Keep Money In, Keep Cold Out
• Local Stores, Local Help
• Curb Appeal
• Don't Forget Your Pets
• Let Your Light Shine On
Note: This is personal discussion, and NOT an offer to purchase or sell insurance or investment products.
It is Ellis Wealth Management’s expressed position that investments should be understood and discussed with an accredited financial professional before purchase. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Investments can lose value which includes risk to principle.
Contact:
Ellis Wealth Management
Paul Ellis: 425-405-7720
email:
paul.Ellis@elliswealthmanagement.net
Jim Tinsley
The Agency NW
Phone: 206-351-7669
Email: https://soldbyjimtinsley.com/Packs for Kids
https://packsforkidswa.com/
We hope our conversations will help you acquire more knowledge, become even more curious about the gifts that are in and all around us, while supporting you to reach new heights as we grow together.
You can subscribe and listen to EWM INSIGHTS on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or the Ellis Wealth Management Homepage: https:// elliswealthmanagement.net/podcasts/
Above all, through EWM INSIGHTS we want to encourage you to:
INVEST IN WHAT YOU LOVE!®
Transcript
Well, all right.
Speaker A:What a great, great day it is in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and we have exited summer.
Speaker A:And I think we're in the last days of our quote unquote, Indian summer, which is really nice.
Speaker A:A little, little crisp in the morning, warms up maybe 67, 70 degrees the height of the afternoon, and then tapers back off to a nice crisp evening.
Speaker A:And so during this time of year, we start looking at our homes, which is for a lot of people, the biggest investment that they have, and look to making sure that it is prepared for winter.
Speaker A:And so with us today, we have our good friend Jim Tinsley.
Speaker A:Jim, you are a real estate agent and you understand this market in the Pacific Northwest, specifically the Snohomish county area, and you work with a lot of families on preparing their homes for sale and preparing them for winter and beautifying what they already have.
Speaker A:So I'm so thankful that you're here with us today.
Jim Tinsley:Thank you for having me.
Jim Tinsley:That is, in fact, what I will be doing at the conclusion of our call.
Jim Tinsley:I'm actually heading to an upcoming listing to do a little winterizing or fall rising, if that is a word, to get it ready and make sure it is good for the off months here.
Speaker A:Well, I know that's going to be a valuable conversation for the homeowners with the information you're going to be able to bring to them.
Speaker A:The winter here in the Northwest is a little different than, say, you know, some of our friends in the Midwest or even on the other side of the mountains.
Speaker A:Here in the state of Washington, we don't get as much snow.
Speaker A:We generally don't have below zero temperatures, although every once in a while we'll have that, that random streak that may come through.
Speaker A:But there are issues with water and freezing and just the different types of things that come along with winter versus versus summer.
Speaker A:So if someone's looking to winterize their home, what are some of the things that you would suggest that they put on their checklist?
Jim Tinsley:The first thing I am going to tell everybody in Western Washington is clean your gutters.
Jim Tinsley:That is just the first place we see massive problems.
Jim Tinsley:It's all the pine needles, it's the leaves, they back up.
Jim Tinsley:Then you've got water leaking and under the eaves of your home you've got maybe damage in your attic crawl space.
Jim Tinsley:Just wreaks havoc on the house.
Jim Tinsley:And it's really an easy thing to do.
Jim Tinsley:Get the ladder out there, scoop through the gutter and be done with it.
Speaker A:So gutters are a number one item that someone should look at.
Speaker A:Is that correct?
Jim Tinsley:Absolutely.
Jim Tinsley:They're really overlooked here.
Jim Tinsley:And I don't understand it.
Jim Tinsley:It seems.
Jim Tinsley:Seems like something I would say fall and winter, I'd say I see it called out on 60, 70% of home inspection.
Jim Tinsley:And it's.
Jim Tinsley:It's a simple fix, but we just get so much loss of those pine needles.
Jim Tinsley:There's so many leaves blowing around, and they just clog gutters.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And one thing I would suggest, if you can hire someone to do it, because being on a ladder by definition means you're not on solid ground.
Speaker A:If you're not used to cleaning out your gutters, I don't think you want to practice with your balance on a ladder.
Speaker A:Most of the homes are on some kind of hill or another, either downward or upward.
Speaker A:That's just a little red flag I always have.
Speaker A:I would suggest if you've done it before, great.
Speaker A:If you can hire it out, even better.
Jim Tinsley:Absolutely.
Jim Tinsley:Full disclosure, I usually hire it out, and when I don't, it's my wife that goes up there because I am terrified of height.
Jim Tinsley:So I myself do not to do my gutters, But I also now sometimes make my son do it because he can fall.
Jim Tinsley:He's rubber.
Speaker A:Well, the other thing that when you're thinking about gutters, you're thinking about leaves.
Speaker A:There may be tree branches.
Speaker A:We have lots of trees in the Pacific Northwest, and perhaps those need to be pruned back or cut back.
Speaker A:What do you think about that?
Jim Tinsley:It's a great time of the year.
Jim Tinsley:You know, make sure you understand what you're doing before you start pruning things.
Jim Tinsley:Talk to a landscaper, perhaps have a landscaper out.
Jim Tinsley:There's some plants you only want to cut back at certain times of the year.
Jim Tinsley:But make sure that you do not have anything touching your house that kind of goes to the next place that I really harp on, which is the attic.
Jim Tinsley:And any tree that is touching your home, any foliage that is touching your home, is a super highway for rodents, for other pests, and you're just inviting them in.
Jim Tinsley:And if you've got that tree branch coming awfully close to the house, I would cut that back, because rodents love to do that.
Jim Tinsley:And then they make a happy little nest in your attic, and they don't pay rent.
Speaker A:That's a great idea.
Speaker A:So we've talked about the roof, We've talked about the gutter.
Speaker A:What else would you add to the list?
Jim Tinsley:So I kind of am a start at the start at the top, work your way down type of person.
Speaker A:Okay.
Jim Tinsley:I always Tell I always recommend to my clients, I always myself kick your head up in your attic crawl space.
Jim Tinsley:This is something most of us can do ourselves.
Jim Tinsley:You don't need to hire somebody for this.
Jim Tinsley:If it looks normal, you're probably okay.
Jim Tinsley:If you see something go, well, that seems a little weird, call out a professional.
Jim Tinsley:You just want to make sure you know you've got insulation up there.
Jim Tinsley:You're not seeing any kind of rodent droppings.
Jim Tinsley:It doesn't smell funny.
Jim Tinsley:You're going to know real quick if you have a pest infestation up there.
Jim Tinsley:You'll open it, you'll notice a smell, call somebody.
Jim Tinsley:You'll notice if your insulation is super sagging and it just doesn't feel like there's enough.
Jim Tinsley:These are the big things.
Jim Tinsley:They generally will not be a problem, but are something you should check every year as you prepare to winterize.
Jim Tinsley:Your house looks awry to you.
Jim Tinsley:And if something looks awry, call a professional.
Speaker A:Excellent.
Speaker A:So we've gone from the roof or the gutters, the roof, the attic, coming on down.
Speaker A:What else do they need to look.
Jim Tinsley:At all of those windows?
Jim Tinsley:Make sure your windows feet properly within the silly look for any kind of weatherization stripping around them inside and out.
Jim Tinsley:Again, if you're on a second floor, maybe you do want to have a professional come out and look.
Jim Tinsley:But you can kind of stand on the ground and expand the view with your phone and zoom in super close to get a good view as well.
Jim Tinsley:You just want to make sure nothing's cracking.
Jim Tinsley:Particularly if you have the, the plastic windows you'll get.
Jim Tinsley:You can get cracking the hot, the cold, the hot, the cold kind of Washington weather.
Jim Tinsley:Most years this is not going to be an issue.
Jim Tinsley:But just keep an eye on it because the year it is and you get a little crack in there, it is going to let in a ton of cold air.
Jim Tinsley:And that is not what you want.
Speaker A:No, no.
Speaker A:You don't want to be letting in the cold air unless you actually are the one opening the window.
Jim Tinsley:Exactly.
Speaker A:Okay, so now we're looking at the windows and we're checking those out.
Speaker A:And if it's on the second floor, once again, hiring someone to take a look might make a lot of sense.
Speaker A:As we come on down.
Speaker A:What else do we look for?
Jim Tinsley:I'm going to continue with points of ingress egress.
Jim Tinsley:I'm going to look at the weather stripping around the door.
Jim Tinsley:This actually fails a lot more often than people might think.
Jim Tinsley:It gets a little snag in it or a little tear that immediately starts letting in some of that cold air.
Jim Tinsley:It's a great access point for things like spiders and other bugs that are seeking to get warm.
Jim Tinsley:So I'm pretty regularly looking at that, stripping around doors, and if there's something wrong with that, get it replaced.
Speaker A:That's pretty.
Speaker A:That's a pretty easy replacement, isn't it?
Jim Tinsley:It's a super easy replacement.
Jim Tinsley:It's very inexpensive.
Jim Tinsley:Most people can do that themselves.
Jim Tinsley:If you need to call somebody, call somebody.
Jim Tinsley:It's still not going to be very expensive.
Jim Tinsley:And I mean, you will instantly make back the money that you will save on your power bill on weather stripping for a door.
Speaker A:And if you have questions and you're, you're a do it yourself person or you're about to be a do it yourself person, I would think that retailers such as Lowe's or the Home Depot Ace, your local ace, tend to be very helpful with information.
Speaker A:So feel free to ask someone.
Speaker A:They, they would probably be more than happy to share with you some tricks of the trade as you're.
Speaker A:As you're picking that up.
Jim Tinsley:Absolutely.
Jim Tinsley:I go talk to my local ace here in Mukilteo all the time and ask them questions about anything I don't know.
Jim Tinsley:And they're very quick to help me and teach me what I don't know.
Speaker A:You know, the fascinating thing regarding Ace Hardware stores is they're generally family owned that are.
Speaker A:Isn't that correct?
Speaker A:They're family owned.
Speaker A:They are.
Speaker A:They're franchises.
Speaker A:And so the people that work there actually have a real vested interest in the success of that store and rely on return customers.
Speaker A:Customers.
Speaker A:I'm not saying that Home Depot isn't a great place to go because I've had terrific experiences at Home Depot.
Speaker A:Obviously I've purchased things at Lowe's and other places as well.
Speaker A:But I can concur that the Mukilteo Ace Hardware store has been terrific not only in assisting in purchasing items, but giving really good information that I wouldn't have otherwise known.
Jim Tinsley:Yeah, they're.
Jim Tinsley:They're fantastic.
Jim Tinsley:I'm in there regularly.
Jim Tinsley:They cut every key for me, for every listing.
Jim Tinsley:They're.
Jim Tinsley:They're fantastic.
Speaker A:So now we've got the doors taken care of and the windows we're looking at outside.
Speaker A:What about the water spigots and things that are connected to the house outside?
Jim Tinsley:We are heading there rapidly.
Jim Tinsley:So I would, I would first just do a quick walk around the house and look for a crawl space under your house.
Jim Tinsley:Anywhere a pest can get in.
Jim Tinsley:I would just make sure they can't.
Jim Tinsley:Make sure it's sealed up, it's closed.
Jim Tinsley:And as I'm doing that walk and come to my hose spigot, I would cover them right then and there.
Jim Tinsley:I wouldn't come back to it.
Jim Tinsley:I'd have my little foam cover or my little insulated SAP and I would cover it and get that just locked down and ready to go for winter.
Jim Tinsley:We do get cold enough to freeze your pipes at those bigots.
Speaker A:Yes.
Jim Tinsley:You don't have to worry as intensely as you do in a Michigan about some things.
Jim Tinsley:But if you don't cover those bigots, you are going to eventually have a problem.
Speaker A:I concur.
Speaker A:And those covers do not cost a lot of money.
Speaker A:At Home Depot and Lowe's they're 2, 2 bucks and it'll save a lot of money versus you know, a potent.
Speaker A:It could potentially save a lot of money.
Speaker A:So $2 can save you a lot of money.
Speaker A:Okay.
Jim Tinsley:Can save you thousands.
Speaker A:And then any hoses that are connected, you want to make sure that obviously those need to be un, unconnected before you even put those, those covers on.
Speaker A:Now this is something that comes to mind.
Speaker A:The driveway.
Speaker A:The driveway is going to again.
Speaker A:If you're on a sliding cline or decline in our weather here in the Pacific Northwest, a little ice can take you a long way.
Speaker A:You know, our ground is not normally super flat.
Speaker A:We've got all types of undulations in our, in our streets and our topography.
Speaker A:So now would be a really good time I would think maybe jumping the gun of what you're going to share.
Speaker A:But those Deicer pellets or things that you put down on the ground, storing up, picking up some of those now at Costco or wherever would probably make some sense, don't you think?
Jim Tinsley:Yeah, absolutely.
Jim Tinsley:As soon as they go on sale at Costco, I would look for those.
Jim Tinsley:I generally go once a year and buy a bucket of salt at Ace and that here usually gets me through a winter.
Jim Tinsley:But I will do my driveway, I will do my stairs.
Jim Tinsley:I have wood stairs that lead up to my front door, my front porch and I'll usually throw some on there.
Jim Tinsley:Front steps are a something I think you need to have a plan for.
Jim Tinsley:As you get into winter they will at some point freeze.
Jim Tinsley:And regardless of what material they're made of, the safety stripping, the kind of sandpaper stripping is fantastic.
Jim Tinsley:In the wet months it might protect you from slipping.
Jim Tinsley:But in the ice month it isn't going to do anything because it will be under the ice.
Jim Tinsley:So still something that is going to saw that ice.
Jim Tinsley:You want to have on hand and buy it before you need it in Costco, Ace, Home Depot, Lowe's, they'll all have sales on it in the upcoming months.
Jim Tinsley:Just look for a good price and go snag it.
Jim Tinsley:Keep it in your garage.
Speaker A:My suggestion is, and it's always great to get these things on sale, but it's better to have them and have them than for them to be on sale.
Speaker A:And you're looking for one.
Speaker A:Same with the snow shovel.
Speaker A:So if it's available, get it.
Speaker A:If you need it, it's better to have it.
Speaker A:And it was paid a couple dollars more than it's on sale, but because it's on sale, they're out of stock.
Jim Tinsley:Agreed?
Jim Tinsley:Absolutely agreed.
Jim Tinsley:I tend to be a go early, be prepared because it buys me a little bit of time and I almost always just see it.
Jim Tinsley:In fact, I have more snow shovels than I need because when I see them hit a certain price at Costco, which they do every year, I just buy one.
Speaker A:They're better to have than not have.
Jim Tinsley:Now I have enough for all my children.
Jim Tinsley:So it's fantastic.
Jim Tinsley:I'm like, hey, look, everybody in the family has one.
Speaker A:And there is a difference, There is a difference between a snow shovel and a regular shovel.
Speaker A:I have, I can attest to that.
Speaker A:And one is a lot better and more comfortable and efficient than the, than the other, for sure.
Jim Tinsley:Buy a snow shovel.
Jim Tinsley:If you don't have one, buy one.
Jim Tinsley:We have a, a moderate snow event pretty much every year now here in Western Washington.
Jim Tinsley:Just buy a snow shovel.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Well, here's a couple of other tips and tricks, I would think, and I'm sure you've got a list as well.
Speaker A:Set your ceiling fans.
Speaker A:If you have a ceiling fan, set it to run counterclockwise and that will.
Speaker A:Pardon me.
Jim Tinsley:Yeah, interesting.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Take a look at replacing your furnace filters, I would think.
Speaker A:You know, check your furnaces, boilers, chimneys, things of that nature.
Jim Tinsley:Yeah, you should be doing that.
Jim Tinsley:A few, at the very, very least, twice a.
Jim Tinsley:Twice a year.
Jim Tinsley:I prefer to check them quarterly.
Jim Tinsley:Definitely check your furnace filter.
Speaker A:And my mom used to tell us, you know, when the temperatures are really low, keep a little bit of water running in your sink or in the, in the bathroom to, to guard against freezing and bursting the pipes.
Jim Tinsley:Yeah.
Jim Tinsley:When we hit those 20 degree days, I definitely recommend that.
Jim Tinsley:Certainly wouldn't say like a place like Michigan where maybe they're doing it all winter long.
Jim Tinsley:But certainly once you hear those, hey, we're having a deep cold, they've come up with some fancy name for it now, but whatever it is they call it when we hit those deep colds, absolutely.
Jim Tinsley:Keep a little water trickling.
Speaker A:My wife has given me a list of things to do.
Speaker A:One of them was to make sure that the patio furniture is being stored and you the grills put away and you know, any propane tank, things of that nature are out of.
Jim Tinsley:Clean your grill.
Speaker A:Clean it.
Speaker A:Clean it before you store it.
Jim Tinsley:Right before you put it away, clean it really well.
Jim Tinsley:Do not store your propane inside your house.
Jim Tinsley:Find a safe place to store it that is not inside.
Jim Tinsley:Yes, store your patio furniture inside if you can.
Jim Tinsley:If not, cover it.
Jim Tinsley:Stack and cover your chairs, cover your table regardless of the material it's made out of.
Jim Tinsley:And then I recommend giving a good end of the season pressure washing to the back porch.
Jim Tinsley:If you have a cement slab back there, just get it kind of maybe not quite yet, maybe wait a couple more weeks here.
Jim Tinsley:Let's let all the fall fall and then give it a good pressure washing.
Jim Tinsley:That's going to make that spring cleaning go a lot easier.
Jim Tinsley:Just get to a good foundation before you head into winter.
Speaker A:Now let me ask you this question.
Speaker A:So we've, we've taken the furniture, we've stacked it, we've covered it, we've appropriately stored propane or other things and we've cleaned off the front porch.
Speaker A:What can someone do to make the house look attractive or the property look attractive with curb appeal during these months?
Jim Tinsley:Here's where people always get frustrated with me because I'm going to put them to work or spend their money on a, on a landscaper.
Jim Tinsley:Get out the rain.
Jim Tinsley:Leaves do not look pretty on the ground.
Jim Tinsley:So if you're getting ready to sell your house, you've got to get.
Jim Tinsley:And I'm not saying every leaf.
Jim Tinsley:We all understand it's the Pacific Northwest, but you don't want the property just littered with leaves.
Jim Tinsley:Because if I am thinking of buying your house and I see all those leaves, all I'm thinking about is the amount of work I've got to do.
Jim Tinsley:Get the blower out there, blow them into a pile, rake the pile into some bags.
Jim Tinsley:It's really not that bad.
Jim Tinsley:And it makes a difference when you go to sell.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I would think if someone was driving by and they saw a lot of leaves on the ground, and if it wasn't right after one of our windstorms, one might think not only is that a lot of work to pick up, but what other work needs to be done to this house?
Jim Tinsley:That's what I would think That's a.
Speaker A:Such a simple thing to do.
Speaker A:Take care of the leaves, get them out of the way, and provide a really nice curb appeal.
Speaker A:Is there anything else that people can do during this time to beautify their property?
Jim Tinsley:Clean your windows.
Jim Tinsley:This sounds silly, but it's an important one.
Jim Tinsley:Keep your windows clean.
Jim Tinsley:So we're having more of that rain, right?
Jim Tinsley:And it's Washington.
Jim Tinsley:Sometimes it's sideways rain and you start getting streaks and maybe you get a little dirt on there, a little mud, and it just doesn't look nice.
Jim Tinsley:I mean, this is, this is a show, right?
Jim Tinsley:Your.
Jim Tinsley:Your house is.
Jim Tinsley:Your house is the show.
Jim Tinsley:This is the, the suit and tie event for your show.
Jim Tinsley:Gussie it up, make it look special.
Speaker A:And so making sure the front of the house looks really nice, you would say is similar to what, cleaning your child before going to school or Sunday school?
Jim Tinsley:Yeah, absolutely.
Jim Tinsley:Like you give the face a quick wipe down.
Jim Tinsley:Give the face of your house a quick wipe down.
Jim Tinsley:Just give it a glance.
Jim Tinsley:A once over.
Jim Tinsley:This isn't a huge thing.
Jim Tinsley:Just make sure it looks pretty and that you look at it and say, wow, I want to buy that house myself.
Speaker A:Yes, yes.
Speaker A:And we mentioned pets or I mentioned pets.
Speaker A:One of the things that I think sometimes when the weather becomes more inclement, we want to get in and we want to get out.
Speaker A:And sometimes people take out their pets for housekeeping purposes and they may not want to pick up after the pet right away, but that can create problems for the people that are interested in looking at the house or if a real estate agent is coming by that you're expecting, making sure that, you know the pet is picked up after as well.
Speaker A:So I think that makes a lot of sense.
Speaker A:What do you think about as far as the lighting or the walkway?
Jim Tinsley:Leave some lights on.
Jim Tinsley:Leave, at the very minimum, leave a porch light on.
Jim Tinsley:But if you have a way to light up your driveway, if you have a driveway light or whatever, leave that on as well.
Jim Tinsley:It is one of the biggest challenges when I'm trying to find a house and, you know, I'm Google mapping it, but all I'm doing is staring off into a dark abyss.
Jim Tinsley:Trying to locate your home.
Jim Tinsley:Help me out, give me a number on the house, illuminate the driveway so we can see as we pull in.
Jim Tinsley:Some minimal lighting is a huge help when you're getting ready to sell your house.
Speaker A:Well, it's also really helpful for some of our older family that are coming over during the holidays, maybe even increasing the voltage on the lighting as maybe their eyes are not adapting to the change in the weather as much as during the summer.
Speaker A:And so giving them more light to be able to walk up the stairs and up the path would be helpful.
Speaker A:You know, it's fascinating.
Speaker A:In New York City in Times Square, there is a minimum number of lumens that the lights must be.
Speaker A:It's almost daytime with the.
Speaker A:With the.
Speaker A:The wattage that is being put out in Times Square.
Speaker A:And it makes a big, big difference.
Speaker A:And so not that we need to have our house illuminating like in the Christmas vacation movie, but more light is very, very helpful.
Speaker A:It's probably safer for guests that come, makes it look more inviting for those that are maybe interested in purchasing your home.
Speaker A:And it also is a great deterrent in having others who might not be looking at your house for the right reason to keep moving on and not stopping.
Speaker A:So that.
Speaker A:That is something that I would suggest.
Jim Tinsley:The uninvited.
Speaker A:Yeah, that is correct.
Jim Tinsley:Absolutely.
Speaker A:That is correct.
Speaker A:Well, listen, I know that you've got a meeting today and with a.
Speaker A:With a special family.
Speaker A:So I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to share with us things that we can do to help winterize our home and to make it more appealing if you're looking to sell your home.
Speaker A:But also things to look for if you're looking to purchase a home.
Speaker A:How well is that home being taken care of with some of these items on this checklist?
Speaker A:Well, I want to thank you for your time today.
Speaker A:Thank you very much.
Speaker A:And Jim, we will be speaking again soon.
Jim Tinsley:Awesome.
Jim Tinsley:Thank you so much for having me.
Jim Tinsley:Always a pleasure.
Speaker A:And since your home is one of your largest investments, I trust that you'll have a beautiful holiday season.
Speaker A:You will enjoy your home, as I always encourage us to invest in what we love.
Jim Tinsley:The night.
